Entel Movil achieves coverage of all 339 municipal capitals

Bolivian president Evo Morales has announced that Entel Movil, the wireless arm of the country’s former monopoly domestic and international long-distance (DLD and ILD) service provider Empresa Nacional de Telecomunicaciones (Entel), has achieved coverage of all of the country’s municipalities. According to local press source La Razon, at the launch of the network in Puerto Siles the politician revealed that Entel now offers services in the capitals of all 339 municipalities, up from 198 at January 2010 and 337 at the beginning of this year. It has been reported that Entel Movil has now deployed more than 1,500 base stations across the country.

Looking ahead, Mr Morales was also cited as saying that the launch of a new satellite – Tupac Katari – which is due to launch in late 2013, will improve communications in Bolivia further, and having achieved 100% coverage for mobile voice services, it is understood that the government now hopes to reach similar coverage levels for internet access. In line with such aims President Morales has reportedly called for an acceleration of the deployment of 4G technologies.